Guest Blogger: Beth J. Hayden

No doubt about it – Pinterest has definitely reached a tipping point. Lately everyone seems to be talking about it!

So, what’s Pinterest?

Pinterest is a relatively new social networking site that allows users to “pin” images, organize those images into collages called “pinboards,” and then share those collages with other Pinterest users. You can also follow other site members, comment on images, tag other users in your comments, and “like” other people’s pins.

Pinterest lets you share the beautiful things you find on the Web. People are using Pinterest for all kinds of things: planning weddings, organizing recipes, developing ideas for their dream houses, and more.

Pinterest’s About page says, “Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” Sounds awesome, right?

So how can artists use this trendy new tool to market their work and inspire their art? Here are some suggestions for artists who want to harness the power of Pinterest.

Create a portfolio!

You can create a board (or even several boards) on Pinterest to share your work. Pinterest is a great way to showcase your best stuff to a targeted audience of artists, galleries, and potential customers. Although Pinterest’s terms of service ask that users don’t use the site purely as a tool for self-promotion, it’s okay to showcase some of your best work by pinning it.

Find inspiration.

Pinterest is a whirlwhind of color, texture and beauty. What I particularly love about it – and the reason it can be such a wonderful source of inspiration – is that on your Pinterest home page, all the pins of people you’re following are mushed together. So you get a wonderful sampling of images in lots of different topics.

On my Pinterest home page right now you’ll find:

• A beautiful photo of a polar bear from the National Wildlife Federation
• A recipe for strawberry shortcake kabobs
• An infographic about the hectic life of a social media manager
• A luscious oil painting by artist Lori McNee

The Blogging With Beth Page on Pinterest

I love that kind of variety! When I feel like I need a little visual boost of creativity, Pinterest is the site I turn to. The site’s beautiful, simple layout makes it easy to focus on the images.

It’s like healthy steroids for the artist mind.

Snazz up your other content!

If you write a blog (and you do have a blog, right?) you can embed your pins into your blog posts. To do this, click on one of your pins. You’ll see some options for social media sharing on the right side of your screen, and one of them says “Embed.” Click on that button, and you’ll get the HTML code that you can put into a blog post to create beautiful, compelling post content.

Pinterest also makes it really easy to share you new pins and re-pins on Facebook and Twitter. Again, click on any pin and then look over on the far right to see lots of cool options for sharing your pins, including sharing on Facebook and Twitter. I like doing this because I can pin something and also share it on my other social media sites, which helps me create content for all my social media accounts quickly and easily.

Show your audience who you really are.

The whole point of Pinterest is to be yourself. You want to pin and share things you think are beautiful, interesting, and exciting.

Yes, you can use Pinterest for marketing – there are tons and tons of ways to do that – but remember the goal of Pinterest is to connect people around the world through the things they find interesting.

Being yourself and pinning interesting things – not just self-promotional items – is going to build your brand because people want to do business with you as a person. They will enjoy connecting with you through the personal self-expression of Pinterest. They will consider buying your art or working with you because they like who you are and what you’re about.

Focus on creating beautiful and compelling visual content, just like you focus on making great art, and the rest will fall into place in time.

A note about copyright issues.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the copyright issues on Pinterest – about images appearing on the site without proper attribution. Clearly, Pinterest is still working out some problems in that realm, and it will be interesting to see how things play out over the few next months.

For now, be aware (as artists) that you need to monitor what’s going on in the Pinterest world. If you find that your work is being pinned on Pinterest without a proper link back to you, you have the right to ask that user to either remove the pin or provide correct attribution.

As a user, you can get yourself in trouble when you pin without proper attribution.

Be respectful of other artists’ work, and never pin something that doesn’t have a link back to its original online source.

Pinterest is not only picking up steam in social media circles, it has become an excellent source of traffic for blogs and websites, quickly surpassing current favorites like LinkedIn and YouTube.

Sign up.

Currently, you need an invitation to join Pinterest. Get a buddy to send you an invitation and then you can start pinning.

Beth Hayden is a social media coach and Pinterest marketing convert. You can follow her pins at @bethhayden and read her blog at BloggingwithBeth.com.

News you can use for your art business, which you might have missed had you stepped away from Twitter at any time during the week. (Gosh, I hope you stepped away!)

All of these tweets are from my @abstanfield Twitter stream.

art biz tips

art biz tip: Never ever say you’re “playing” in the studio. You’re working your butt off. Play=Not serious

art biz tip: Your artist statement should compel people to look back at your art. Does it?

art biz tip: Update your bio. Surely you have something new to add.

this and that

Received email from high-end Denver gallery with prices in it. First time ever. The world is changing.

Check out @ColMitchellArt ‘s Register Your Art page. Good work Col! ow.ly/9cZe3

In case you ever thought you’d want to work at an auction house. zite.to/wUi2ds via @Zite

Ryan Jones, of The Crafts Report, “… your highest-priced items can be a better sales tool than the greatest booth or display @CraftsReport via @HarrieteE

“The online art market is becoming like a crowded boxing ring.” Financial Times ow.ly/99mHR

RT @sam_clift: Just finished reading ‘I’d rather be in the studio!’ Seriously recommend it to any artist in need of marketing tips <Thx Sam!

Artists share their workspaces and say a few words about them hyperallergic.com/46732/a-view-f… via @hyperallergic

Date your artwork? Yes! artworknetwork.net/blog/?p=1065 via @artworknetwork

social media

7 powerful ways to end your next blog post via @problogger ow.ly/9ba31

Authority blogging for artists ow.ly/9cRGQ via @chrisgarrett

75 Surprisingly Creative Facebook Timeline Covers zite.to/wkLJJY via @Zite these are great!

Use Pinterest responsibly – great article bit.ly/zJysZY

Pinterest: How to prevent your Blogger images from being pinned bit.ly/A50SSn via @MakingaMark

just really cool

Artist Walks All Day to Create Spectacular Snow Patterns zite.to/wLOR0Y

need your input

Still looking: cloud-based inventory/databases for artists? Your recommendations?

Who are you? We want to know in this quick survey artbizblog.com/who-are-you

Guest Blogger: Whitney Ferré

I entered the art world in 1996 without even a slip of scratch paper in my portfolio.

I opened The Creative Fitness Center in Nashville, TN to provide my community with a “right brain gym” so that they could develop their artist mentality and go back out into the art of life better able to create the change they desired.

What I have found since is that the act of both creating artwork and buying artwork has a transformative effect on human beings. Consider how these three elements might infuse new life into your marketing plan.

Create Meaning Around Your Art

The search for meaning is a drive that exists in all of us—and a combination of external circumstances and internal will bring it to the surface. ~ Dan Pink

Your art is the external circumstance that can create a shift in your audience internally and attract them to purchase your work.

How can you create a greater emphasis on the meaning of your art? What does it mean to you? Do you share this with your audience? What do you want your art to mean to them? What kind of meaningful change could occur when your art hangs in their space?

I believe that every piece of original art has tremendous energy that it continues to exude as long as it has an audience. Your art is not passive. It is alive! It vibrates with the colors and intentions you created. Share this with your audience and you are not only creating an object they can see, but one they can experience.

One of the ways I create meaning is to provide insight into the step-by-step process of creating my artwork, both visually and with conversation. ©Whitney Ferré

Capture the Soul of Your Audience

…develop a strong brand promise….In marketing jargon we call these central ideals ‘brand essence’ – the essential and intrinsic nature of the brand; its spirit and soul; a single thought that captures that soul.” ~A.J. Kimmel at ConnectingWithConsumers.net

What can you promise your audience that will inspire them to purchase your work? What is the intention you paint into your work?

©Whitney Ferré

Do you want to bring happiness to their day? Do you want to connect them with a deeper part of themselves? Do you want to remind them of a particular group of people, connect them to a geographic location or a time in history?

Expand upon your intention in your marketing.

I have been taken over by a desire to paint owls for the past year or so. I am not the only one. Owls are everywhere. I have chosen to share with my audience that by purchasing or painting their own owl in one of my online programs, they are amplifying an inner light that can guide them along their path.

I am selling owl art, but I am also selling personal illumination. When my owl hangs in their space, it will continue to illuminate the power of our spirit within to enlighten our daily routine.

Tell a Story

Marketing is storytelling. . . . It’s you talking directly to your customers and telling them who you are, why you’re better and what you believe so that they remember you and feel connected to you. ~Lisa Barone

“Story” is one of the elements in Dan Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, that he says characterizes our new “Conceptual Age.” It is no longer about “just the facts.”

More than anything, your audience wants to know your story. They want to connect with the person behind the brand. They want to be entertained.

What is your story? How did you find your “artist within”?

Where do you create your art? What are your rituals? What is hard? What are you most passionate about? Share your story and they will want to become a part.

Today, we as artists have an incredible opportunity, not only to purge the starving artist paradigm, but also to allow our art to touch the spirits, heal the souls, and inspire our audience to participate more actively in the world they inhabit. Your role as the artist is as seer, healer, and visionary.

We are all co-creating a new world, a new way of being and doing.

It is your artist spirit that will infect others with the desire to create the change they want to see in their world.

Lean in to this new opportunity and bare your soul a bit more. Your growing audience will thank you.

Whitney Ferré is Chief Creativity Guru at Creatively Fit and author of The Artist Within, A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit. Learn more about her JOURNEY, a retreat in the Pacific NW this April celebrating Creativity & Spirituality.

Deep Thought Thursday: Is great art obvious?

Michelangelo, Pieta, 1498-99. St. Peter's Basilica.

Does it hit you over the head?

Do you have to spend time with it to understand its greatness?

While we’re at it . . . What is great art?

Understanding the mission for various online marketing platforms might just save your sanity. Once you know how you’re going to use something – or how you should be using it – it’s easier to prioritize your efforts.

Carolin Peters coordinates her website, blog, and Facebook account.

Website

Your website is your calling card, your online portfolio. This is where you send people to show them what you do best.

Your website is your baby! It’s designed to show off your work to the world, so it better reveal your professionalism.

Make sure it’s up to date and easy to navigate. Add new work and your bio info regularly, depending on how active you are in the studio and exhibiting. Get the website right, and you can spend more of your time on traffic generators.

See the Art Biz Coach Website Makeover audio program with Web designer Patricia J. Velte.

Blog

Your blog is where you should be spending most of your online time. In contrast to social media platforms, blogging brings people to your site. It gives you the traffic rather than turning it over to a third party.

A blog allows you to show off your brilliance, humor, and personal side. It provides a place for people to interact with you, which they can’t do on a static website.

Most importantly, a blog offers space for you to build content and articulate your ideas, which can be repurposed in all areas of your art career.

If you’ve been neglecting your blog, Cynthia Morris and I can help revive it in our Blog Triage class that begins in April and is just open to 30 people.

Facebook, Twitter, Google+

With status updates on these social media platforms, you can drive traffic to your website or blog.

Many of your friends and fellow artists hang out on these sites, so they are great places to maintain friendships. They’re also valuable for making new connections and learning about opportunities.

Don’t forget that galleries, museums, and other venues also use these sites. It’s easy to connect with these venues through social media by engaging in their conversations.

But don’t waste time here. Do what you need to do, and then get back to work on the stuff that brings you money.

Pinterest

If you’ve been in a cave, Pinterest is the fastest-growing social media site in history. Its bulletin-board layout is made to show off works of art – your art.

You’ll have to spend some time here, but first check the Art Biz Blog next Monday for a post about using Pinterest for your art.

Email

Email should be used to maintain relationships by sending individual personal messages to the people that you care most about.

Email can also generate traffic if you write a newsletter or short updates and give people a good reason to click through to one of your pages.

I read recently that the average person spends 2.5 hours on email every day. You might as well be making the most of that time!

How do you prioritize your online time?

Get articles like this delivered to your inbox each Wednesday when you subscribe to the Art Marketing Action newsletter. Click here to subscribe.

We’re not Google, Facebook, or Apple.

We’re not privy to your clicks, your private address book, or your Likes.

You’re going to have to tell us!

We Want to Know

How are you selling your art? How are you making ends meet?

I’ve signed up to help distribute The Enterprising Artist Survey and I’d love for you and all Art Biz Blog readers to have your voices heard.

All participants will receive a summary of the results (when you leave your email address for notification). If you’d like your name mentioned on the Right Brain Rockstar website, you can leave your website or Twitter URL.

You have until the end of the month, but why wait? Do it now before it’s too late and you aren’t counted.

Click here to start the survey. It should take 10 short minutes.

Thank you!

Artists must nurture excellent communication skills, be approachable, and learn how to handle the opportunities that arise for obtaining gallery representation and selling to buyers.

I called on Scott Ginsberg of “HELLO, my name is Scott” fame to talk with me about how we can do a better job of this. The interview was recorded last fall for the Artist Conspiracy. Highlights of our conversation include:

• Some specific ways artists can increase approachability.
• Why approachability is important in communication.
• How you can bring more life to your conversations.
• How to start, maintain and close conversations with people.

I keep most of the Artist Conspiracy under lock and key for members only, but every now and then (after a few months have passed) I will give you a sneak peek behind the scenes. That’s what I’m doing with this post.

listen

Download the audio. (36 minutes)

Or listen here:

Conspiracy members receive transcripts of all interviews.

about

Scott Ginsberg has been internationally recognized as “The World’s Expert On Nametags” and “The Authority on Approachability.” He’s frequently interviewed by various online, print, radio and TV media for his unique expertise, which is a result of wearing a nametag all day, every day.

Scott travels around the world speaking to companies, associations and universities.

To see how Scott practices what he preaches, just check out his Contact page. Talk about approachable! And you should follow Scott’s musings on Twitter: @Nametagscott

explore

Find out more about the Artist Conspiracy and what you might be missing. Click here.

That’s all . . .

Why not?

Deep Thought Thursday

The virtue of exhibiting your art is something I never thought I’d have to write about. I took it for granted that all artists want to exhibit their work. Not so.

Many artists are relying on Internet sales. If you can make a living and be fulfilled as an artist by showing your art only online, good for you. If you crave more, read on.

Kathy Knaus takes some pride in seeing her work Joni IV on exhibit in a Denver gallery.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about why you shouldn’t trust any single marketing method to get your message out. I told the story of almost missing a local event because I wasn’t connecting with the Facebook feed of one of the artists.

What I didn’t discuss in that article was the brilliance of the exhibit itself.

The artists didn’t wait for a venue. They made their own!

Six artists rented a conference/banquet room in a boutique hotel for a one-night only event. They set up booths and relied on their lists and connections to get art-lovin’ bodies in the door.

It was crowded in there! Lots of people came, and sales were made.

Best of all, visitors experienced the art in person.

Exhibit More

As a former museum professional, I am trained to be objects-focused. That means I look to the object (art) to tell me its story rather than relying on critical discourse or historical theories. I will go to my grave preaching about the virtues of exhibiting your art.

The Internet is an amazing tool, but it can never replace encountering a real work of art. (Other than, of course, art created for the Web.)

Art is a form of communication. You might think you make art as a form of self-expression, but you know that your work is incomplete until people see it and respond to it. You understand the synergy that erupts when you are in a room full of people looking at and talking about your art.

Nothing in the artist’s experience compares.

Exhibiting your art provides a space and a time frame for people to appreciate the true colors, lines, textures, patterns, and scale. Art takes on richness in this environment that it doesn’t have when it’s sitting in your studio.

Perhaps more importantly, exhibiting your art allows you to have a dialogue with people about the work. You can’t help but learn and grow from these experiences.

Exhibit Anywhere

It isn’t necessary to wait on venues to say Yes to showing your work. Follow the example of the artists in the opening of this article and rent a space. Or host an open studio or open house.

Do anything to put your art in front of flesh-and-bones people and begin the conversation. It’s good for you!

Newsletter subscribers receive a list of at least 25 non-traditional venues to help you brainstorm more exhibit opportunities. Subscribe by February 21 to get a copy of this list.

I’d  love for you to comment on the virtues (or not) of exhibiting your art.

Guest blogger: McKenna Hallett

In my seminar titled The E’s of Selling™, I ask: “What’s Love got to do with it?” As you will learn here, love is all there is in the sales process.

Perhaps the most important “E” on the road to love for your collectors addresses a critical part of everyone’s buying and selling experience:  Empathy. Those first moments of contact are fragile and involve complex emotions.

McKenna Hallett, Integrated Hearts. Brass screen, aluminum lithographic plate, copper sheet metal, and brass accent wire, approximately 2 1/4 x 1 3/4 inches.

Why are we all equally affected when confronted with a salesperson?

What is the tension we feel as salespeople (or buyers)?

Why do so many so quickly burst out with “Just looking!” at the hint of a hello or any attempt to engage?

Them vs. Us (and $$)

As sellers, we use silly tricks, like acting busy with dusting. Or we keep people talking with us so others will then feel comfortable to browse. After all, it is safe to enter the area if the salesperson is already engaged in another activity, right?

As buyers, we don’t want to seem too easy a target. But we also don’t want to engage in any relationship that might require us to say No. Think about this. We equate rejection as a very bad thing. We want to avoid getting rejected. (As salespeople, we often do not ask for the sale for that very reason.)

We don’t want to reject another person because we know it sucks to feel rejection.

This is empathy deep at work keeping both sides from easily engaging when a money transaction is involved. The same two people would have no problem being themselves with each other at a bus stop or in line at the grocers.

This awkwardness is all because of money. Both buyer and seller understand this and are affected by this factor.

If you are at an art fair selling your own accomplishments, it gets even more delicate. Now your booth visitor is not only saying No to spending money with you, they are also “voting you off the island.” What a scary situation this can be for many of us!

But No is not always No. The old directive “Don’t take no for an answer” must be honored here. Sometimes a No is really a Maybe. IF the shopper feels connected, safe, inspired, and cared for, a No can easily become a Yes.

Pushy-Free Selling

Don’t let it be about the money. Find the love – the love for your art, for sharing your art, and for people.

I hear it all the time: “I don’t want to be a pushy salesperson.” I would argue that pushy has left the building over the years, but to be absolutely pushy-free I have just the cure:

• Be empathetic and you can never be considered pushy.
• Treat others as friends and show them you care about their needs.
• Take the words I, ME, and MINE out of your vocabulary as much as possible and replace your statements with YOU and YOURS.

These exercises alone will increase your sales.

Remember that people deserve the opportunity to experience the joy of ownership that comes with purchasing your art.

You have brought great happiness to many. And like the great food you ate, movie you saw, or book you read, sharing and (hint: this is another of the “E’s of Selling”) encouraging people to experience good things in life come naturally for the vast majority of us.

Go out there and show you care (empathize) and help (encourage) people to say Yes – a  decision you know will make them happier and thankful for years to come. Share your art with the same (here’s another “E”!) enthusiasm you have for that restaurant you love – because LOVE is what we all want to feel.

Love is all there is.

And don’t forget to smile, laugh, and have some fun. Fun people make more money!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

About the Guest Blogger

Mckenna Hallett started her first business at age 8. In 1992 she launched her own jewelry business, “Currents – low impact jewelry,” which is available across the globe. McKenna has long been teaching The E’s of Selling to share her insights with fellow artists.

 

The Cultivate Collectors class is all about showing love to your buyers and fans. It starts tomorrow, 2.15.12. Click here to find out more.